Research

Research Projects and Activities

Critical infrastructure systems, or lifelines, provide services, such as energy, transportation, water, sanitation, and communications, that are essential for social and economic activities. These systems serve large populations and comprise networks that are geographically distributed. The systems are also interdependent, meaning that failure of one system paralyzes the functionality of other dependent infrastructure systems, resulting in societal consequences and financial losses not accounted for in conventional, single-infrastructure design and assessment strategies.

Dr. Alipour’s research group’s investigates a wide range of structures, such as buildings, bridges, utility poles, and transmission towers, at the component level, and their associated infrastructure systems, such as transportation and electric power networks at the system level. The investigations cover a variety of hazards, including earthquakes, windstorms, and flooding events.

The research generally takes place in the following categories:

  • High-fidelity computational simulations of structural systems under multi-hazard conditions
  • Data-driven, performance-based engineering of structures to achieve long-term sustainability and safety
  • Network-level investigation of interactions among infrastructure systems to enhance their resilience
  • Optimization of design and strengthening of civil infrastructures based on life-cycle performance objectives

Insights from our research can help various stakeholders, including decision makers, design engineers, asset managers, and planners, make more informed decisions to minimize the impact of natural disasters on the civil infrastructures that serve the communities, especially where/when there is a high exposure risk. Further information about our ongoing research activities can be found in:

Dr. Alipour’s research group has secured more than 35 sponsored research projects (total exceeding $22.0M) from various agencies. Some of the main research projects are:

Project Title: Empowering Resilience: Innovations in Rural Electric Network Disaster Preparedness and Response

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2024-2027


Project Title: National Testing Facility for Enhancing Wind Resiliency of Infrastructure in Tornado-Downburst-Gust Front Events (NEWRITE)

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2023-2027


Project Title: Innovations toward a New Generation of Buildings Equipped with Smart Morphing Facades

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2023-2026


Project Title: Development of Non-Seismic Fragility Functions for Bridges

Sponsor: Federal Highway Administration (Role: PI)

Duration: 2024-2025


Project Title: RAPID: Assessment of Damage and Recovery of Power and Road Infrastructures in Western Alaska after Ex-Typhoon Merbok

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2023-2024


Project Title: Bridge Construction Requirements

Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2023-2026


Project Title: Integration of Innovative Structural Solutions and Data-Enabled Planning Strategies for Infrastructure Resilience in an Evolving Climate

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2023-2026


Project Title: Electric Network Disaster Mitigation for Utilities in Rural Communities

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2023-2024


Project Title: Advancing the Design of Flexible Ancillary Structures

Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)

Duration: 2022-2024


Project Title: Structural Design Software Development for Wind Response Research (Phases I and II)

Sponsor: National Institute of Standards and Technology (Role: PI)

Duration: 2021-2024


Project Title: Wind-Loaded Structures

Sponsor: Wisconsin Highway Research Program (Role: PI)

Duration: 2021-2023


Project Title: GIS Tool to Plan Mitigation and Recovery of Gridlines under Natural Hazards to Improve Resiliency

Sponsor: Iowa Energy Center (Role: PI)

Duration: 2021-2023


Project Title: Rethinking the Role of Building Envelopes with Smart Morphing Facades

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2019-2022


Project Title: Design and Detailing Requirements for Columns under Collision

Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)

Duration: 2019-2020


Project Title: Performance-Based Risk Assessment and Mitigation Tool for Buildings under Extreme Wind Events

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2018-2021


Project Title: CAREER: Transforming Resiliency of Electric Power Network with Multi-Threat, Risk-Informed Design and Assessment Strategies

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2018-2023


Project Title: Extreme Weather Events, Proxy Indicators, and Asset Management

Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2018-2020


Project Title: Next Generation Life Cycle Cost Analysis Tool for Bridges in Iowa (Phases I and II)

Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: PI)

Duration: 2018-2022


Project Title: Development of Guidelines to Establish Effective and Efficient Timelines and Incentives for ABC

Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: PI)

Duration: 2017-2018


Project Title: Bridge Research to K-12

Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2017-2018


Project Title: Assessing and Enhancing the Transportation Resilience for the State of Iowa

Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2017-2019


Project Title: Development of a Novel Aerodynamic Solution to Mitigate Large Vibrations in Traffic Signal Structures (Phases I and II)

Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program Innovations Deserving Exploratory Analysis (NCHRP-IDEA) (Role: PI)

Duration: 2017-2024


Project Title: Fatigue Evaluation of Reinforced and Unreinforced Hand Holes in Light Poles

Sponsor: Iowa Department of Transportation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2017-2020


Project Title: Initiative for Big Data-Driven Prediction of Long-Term Bridge Performance and Management Improvement

Sponsor: Midwest Transportation Center (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2016-2017


Project Title: Resilience Enhancement of Electric Power Systems and Associated Infrastructures

Sponsor: Iowa Energy Center (Role: PI)

Duration: 2016-2017


Project Title: Partially Grouted Revetment for Low Volume Road Bridges

Sponsor: Iowa Highway Research Board (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2016-2018


Project Title: Development of High Performance Control Systems for Wind Response Mitigation

Sponsor: National Science Foundation (Role: Co-PI)

Duration: 2016-2019


Project Title: An Integrated Project- to Enterprise-Level Decision Making Framework for Prioritization of Accelerated Bridge Construction

Sponsor: Accelerated Bridge Construction University Transportation Center (Role: PI)

Duration: 2016-2017


Project Title: Next-Generation Monitoring and Evaluation of California Bridges

Sponsor: California Department of Transportation (Role: PI)

Duration: 2016-2017


Project Title: Multi-scale Resilience Assessment of Highway Transportation Networks Subject to Extreme Flood Events

Sponsor: Midwest Transportation Center (Role: PI)

Duration: 2015-2016


Project Title: Post-Extreme Event Assessment of Infrastructure Damage to Highway Bridges

Sponsor: National Cooperative Highway Research Program (Role: PI)

Duration: 2014-2015

Back to Top